Movie Games : Why Are They So Bad?

Licensed movie games have been around almost as long as the gaming industry itself. Join DPAD's Andrew Martins as he takes a look at some recent film-to-game failures and asks the question: "Why are they so bad?"

i think Alladin was good. The Blade Runner PC game was really good. but the problem is, timing, you want to release it with another event to maximize exposure. and the IP. You have to follow a storyline, characters abilites and personalities. So it is usually demanding to create a game, within someone elses world, to coincide with the release of a film. And since the publisher knows that X amount will be sold based on name alone. they really dont pressure or provide funds enough for a AAA stellar game. when the cost between acceptable and great sales, far far out weigh profit.

If you create a game with the same amount of cash, but have to hand over big chunks of the development cash in license fees, you are left with only so much cash for the actual game. And in most cases this shows, and the movie game blows.

Games based on movies will generally suck because the developer is more or less too lazy to come up with an idea for a game. They look for something that already has a following and then puts as little effort into making a game for it. If they're too lazy to come up with their own idea for a game, why would you expect them to be able to make a good game at all?